Literature attempts to shape or reflect society, and often literature reveals truths and provides insight into the condition of that society. The American dream is a dominant theme in American literature, and in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, the idealistic dream is critically evaluated. In this article I will explain the context of the work and then compare and contrast Dick Any Perry (the murderers) with the Clutter family (the murdered) in relation to the theme of the fragility of the American dream. Capote wrote what he considered the first non-fiction novel. Simply put, a nonfiction novel is a novel in which an event is reported using traditional literary and rhetorical conventions to expose broader truths regarding humanity as a whole without straying from the truth ("novel non-fiction"). Capote had long believed that journalism could expose broader truths about the human condition that fiction could not, as Capote explains in this excerpt from Inge's Truman Capote: Conversations: I always had the theory that reporting is the great unexplored art form. I mean, most good writers, good literary craftsmen, rarely use this craft… I had this theory that a factual work could explore whole new dimensions of writing that would have a double effect than fiction n It doesn't: every fact if it's true, every word is true, it would add a double contribution of force and impact. (40) Convinced that nonfiction has more impact than fiction, Capote uses the literary technique of montage to create a comparison and contrast between two distinct beliefs. Helen Garason (143-44) argues that Capote made this structural decision for maximum suspense and impact in order to drive...... middle of paper ....... 2014.Inge, M. Thomas , ed. Truman Capote: Conversations. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1987. 40. Web. April 5, 2014.< http://books.google.com/books/about/Truman_Capote.html?id=WWZ3XEQy6X0C >Kim, Lydia. "Critical essay on 'In Cold Blood'." Nonfiction Classics for Students: Presenting analysis, context, and criticism of nonfiction works. Ed. David M. Galens, Jennifer Smith and Elizabeth Thomason. Flight. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Library Resources. Internet. April 5, 2014.Knickerbocker, Conrad. “A night on a farm in Kansas.” New York Times. January 16, 1966: b. page. Internet. April 5, 2014..“Non-fiction novel”. and Web. April 5, 2014. .Silverstein, Jake. “Letter from the editor.” Texas Monthly. April 2014: 16. Print.